Ye Htut Win — better known as Sharky — mastered the process of air-drying meat when working in restaurants in Geneva. His cabinet for curing meats, pictured here, is the only one of its kind in Myanmar.

After decades working in restaurants and cocktail bars in Geneva, Ye Htut Win returned to Yangon and took the unconventional path of retraining as a farmer, focusing on the raw ingredients that would then later be the focus of dishes served at his restaurant. That’s quite different from the usual fried and super oily local food.

“Everyone thought we were nutcases,” said Mr. Ye Htut Win — better known as Sharky, a nickname given to him by friends in Switzerland who believed he was ambitious and single-minded, much like a shark. “It was not something that was done, especially since we came from a family of diplomats.”

But 18 years after returning home, his restaurant and delicatessen Sharky’s — now four years old — stands proud and distinct in Myanmar’s culinary scene, serving up dishes crafted from some of the best locally sourced ingredients across the country’s rich farmlands.